This early-winter bird census is the longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, compiling invaluable bird population data used to further protection and conservation efforts of bird species.

Data collected by Audubon CBC has contributed to hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies, informed the U.S. State of the Birds Report and revealed major environmental realizations, such as the immediate impacts of climate change.

North Carolina’s Audubon CBC helped document the comeback of the previously endangered bald eagle and significant increases in waterfowl populations, both the result of the state’s conservation efforts.

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 when Dr. Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore – which evolved into Audubon magazine – suggested an alternative to the holiday “side hunt,” in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds. CBC has become a treasured holiday tradition, a reunion with birding friends and a way for anyone to play a small part in a big conservation picture.